Leanne Olson

20. Mayra by Nicky Gonzales

Ingrid’s complicated childhood friend Mayra calls her out of the blue and invites her to visit a mysterious house in the Everglades.

I love horror novels where the location feels like a character. This novel is stifling and eerie in the best way.

I was surprised to hear this is Gonzales’ debut, her writing is confident and lovely.

19. Our Winter Monster by Dennis Mahoney

Holiday horror about an unhappy couple running from their problems and straight into the maw of a terrifying beast.

Our Winter Monster needs to be talked about more, it’s unique and cozy and a wonderful read for when you’re snowed in.

18. The Possession of Alba Díaz by Isabel Cañas

In 1765, when a demonic presence awakens deep in a Mexican silver mine, the young woman it seizes must turn to the one man she shouldn’t trust.

This one went so much harder than I was expecting! I loved the history, the atmosphere of the mine, Alba’s character, the romance, and that perfect ending. Cañas’ blend of historical horror and horror-romance is wonderful.

17. The Hunger We Pass Down by Jen Sookfong Lee

A horror-tinged intergenerational saga, where a single mother’s doppelganger forces her to confront the legacy of violence that has shaped every woman in their family.

The Hunger We Pass Down is beautifully written and probably the darkest, saddest book I read this year. If you appreciate literary horror and multigenerational trauma examined through the supernatural, this is a stunning novel and a must read.

16. How Bad Things Can Get by Darcy Coates

It was supposed to be the party of the century: miles of idyllic white sand beaches, lush jungle foliage…and a dark legend nobody dreamed might be all too true.

This one is just batshit crazy and such a needed break from the serious themes of most of my top 20. Don’t get me wrong — there’s a lot of violence, and it’s not one of Coates’ cozy horror novels, but it’s a fun page-turner that mashes up influencer horror, cult horror, and slashers.

15. Exiles by Mason Coile

The human crew sent to prepare a colony on Mars arrives to find their brand new base half-destroyed and the three robots sent to set it up in disarray—the machines have formed alliances, chosen their own names, and picked up disturbing beliefs.

This was just a blast. A locked room mystery meets space horror. It was my first read from Mason Coile and I was sorry to learn he passed away earlier this year. His book William (which I picked up immediately after finishing Exiles) is also a great read.

14. They Fear Not Men in the Woods by Gretchen McNeil

When Jen Monroe hears her father’s remains have been found, she returns home to disprove his death, only to find the forests of rural Washington are hiding unimaginable horrors.

I read this alone on a camping trip in the forest, so it was absolutely perfect. I loved the crabby heroine and Finnish mythology, plus some wonderfully creepy deaths.

13. The Graceview Patient by Caitlin Starling

Margaret lives with a rare autoimmune condition. It has no cure—until she’s offered a fully paid-for spot in an experimental medical trial at Graceview Memorial. 

This is one of the scariest books I’ve read all year. The hospital gothic vibe completely hooked me. It’s beautifully written and Meg’s isolation and lack of control is chilling.

12. Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna Van Veen

The Netherlands, 1887. Lucy’s twin sister Sarah is unwell. She refuses to eat, and is obsessed with a centuries-old corpse recently discovered on her husband’s estate.

This is a wonderful Dracula-inspired novel of female rage and revenge. I love that it brought in some of the strange medical aspects of Bram Stoker’s novel, and the absolute overdramatic gothic vibe.

11. What Hunger by Catherine Dang

A haunting coming-of-age tale following the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, Ronny Nyugen, as she grapples with the weight of generational trauma while navigating the violent power of teenage girlhood.

I love a good coming of age story, and What Hunger immersed me in Ronny’s family and the difficulties particular to the children of recent immigrants. This is a quiet novel but never boring; it opens up with heartbreak and slowly builds tension. I loved the ending.

10. The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong

Samantha inherits her family’s lakefront cottage, with one catch: she must live there for a month, and prove that her father was innocent of a child’s murder, even though Sam saw him with the body.

I devoured this one. Armstrong is one of my favourite writers in any genre, and I loved the mix of folklore and horror.

9. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones

This historical novel is set in the nascent days of the state of Montana, following a Blackfeet Indian named Good Stab as he haunts the fields of the Blackfeet Nation looking for justice.

This is a brilliant novel, harrowing and heartrending. Stephen Graham Jones blows me away with his mastery of voice and language.

8. Cold Eternity by S.A. Barnes

Halley is on the run and heads for what seems like the perfect place to lay low: a gigantic space barge storing the cryogenically frozen bodies of Earth’s most fortunate citizens from more than a century ago

A ship full of frozen bodies, fun! I’m such a fan of space horror and wish this were a bigger subgenre. Barnes’ novels are always a treat for me and I made this my first read of 2025, knowing I’d love it. Cold Eternity scared me more than any other novel this year, except perhaps my #1 pick.

7. Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

Two graduate students must put aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul—perhaps at the cost of their own.

Okay technically this is a fantasy novel but it’s set in hell, so it’s going on my list. I work in academia, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen an author capture the horror of the experience as well as Kuang. Plus, lots of fascinating afterlife mythology.

6. Dark Sisters by Kristi DeMeester

Three women. Three centuries. One legacy of fury, love, and a power that refuses to die.

This one hit on a few of my favourite themes: female rage aimed at the patriarchy and organized religion, and the way history is twisted by those in power. Dark and gorgeous.

5. The Hong Kong Widow by Kristen Loesch

Hong Kong, 1953: In a remote mansion, witnesses insist a massacre took place. The police declare it a collective hallucination. Until decades later, when one witness returns

The Hong Kong Widow was so strange. It had some of my favourite elements: twisting timelines, themes of identity and grief, and a seance competition (what a fantastic concept). I’m still not sure I full understood this one; I’m excited to read it again in the future.

4. The Butcher’s Daughter by David Demchuk and Corinne Leigh Clark

The story of Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney Todd’s partner in crime, and her notorious pie shop.

I love an epistolary horror novel and this one is immersive, dark, funny, and heartbreaking.

2025 has been a fantastic year for women and cannibalism, revenge, and old-timey medicine.

3. Play Nice by Rachel Harrison

A woman must confront the demons of her past when she attempts to fix up her childhood home.

I get so excited for the new Rachel Harrison book each year, which comes out the same week as my birthday. I feel like readers either appreciate her female characters or can’t stand them. I loved Clio: she’s such a mess. Play Nice is funny and creepy, and has one of my favourite horror tropes: the book-within-a-book. Possibly my new favourite Rachel Harrison book.

2. The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Three women in three different eras encounter danger and witchcraft in this eerie multigenerational horror saga.

The Bewitching might be my favourite of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s books so far. It’s a slow, immersive read, and the witches in this are genuinely evil and terrifying. 

I’m loving the resurgence of threatening, non-romantic witches and warlocks in books and film right now.

1. Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker

Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner, washing away the remains of brutal deaths in Chinatown. When her sister is pushed in front of a train, she is haunted by her hungry ghost.

I read this in February and immediately knew it would be my best of the year. Bat Eater is stunning. It’s thoughtful, examining anti-Asian racism during the pandemic. It’s also beautifully written and the scariest book I read all year.